Mobile communication devices such as cell phones generally include a keypad and display for allowing a user to interact with mobile device applications. A user can navigate through menus presented on the display of the mobile device by depressing one or more keys on a keypad. Some keypads include a navigation pad which allows a user to navigate menus on the keypad in an ergonomic manner. The keypad and the navigation pads are generally touch-based which require physical user interaction. A user can physically touch the keypad or navigation pad to navigate through a menu system on the display.
Mobile devices, such as cell phones, are generally limited in size, and thus have small keypads. As one example, certain mobile devices can include miniature keyboards which allow users to perform text messaging functions. The size of the keypad can limit the ease at which users can type on the miniature keypad, or navigate menus on the display via a keypad, to interact with the cell phone. Such keyboards and keypads have keys with a touching area that is generally smaller than the size of a user's finger which can provide more keys to provide more user menu options.
Moreover, certain mobile devices can be used in hands-free mode, such as a headset or earpiece, further reducing the touch-based keypad area. For example, certain headsets, such as Blue Tooth enabled earpieces, can fit comfortably in a user's ear and provide short range communication with a cell phone on the user's person. The user generally interacts directly with the keypad or keyboard of the cell phone, and not the headset or earpiece. However, in order to navigate menus, a user handles the cell phone and navigates through menus presented on the display of the cell phone using the keypad of the cell phone. The user does not generally interact with the headset or earpiece due to the small size of the earpiece and limited area for a keypad. Moreover, such user interaction with the cell phone is touch-based and generally requires a user to handle a mobile device.